I believe every American citizen age 18 and older should have the right to vote and I believe every Hoosier adult should have the same right. I also believe to ensure the integrity of any election there should be a way to identify eligible voters and track their vote. Indiana’s voter registration laws are an excellent way to do this.
I also believe every adult law abiding citizen without a felony conviction should have the right to carry a firearm. I have no problem showing my identification when I vote. I consider the ID process a minor inconvenience to ensure my vote is counted and it is a valuable tool to discourage fraudulent voting. Each time I enter a government building (including our local courthouse) I am subject to search. I consider this a minor inconvenience to ensure the safety of the people who work there. I have a conceal carry permit for my handgun and I consider the process to keep it valid a minor inconvenience.
The Indiana legislature erred greatly by removing the conceal carry permit process. They took away a valuable tool that police use to ensure a citizen is allowed to carry. The argument the legislature stated when voting to repeal the law was; we are protecting the lawful Hoosier who did not want to be fingerprinted in order to exercise their second amendment rights. I believe this to be disingenuous at best and they lost an opportunity to show their support for Hoosier police.
I strongly disagree with this vote and I am disappointed with our local state senator and representative. Their actions placed another burden on police officers in their efforts to keep themselves safe.
Neil Barclay
Crawfordsville
